Water conservation plays an important role in today's society. Efficiently managing water resources helps to save usable water, reduce energy consumption, and decrease sewage costs. Past and current efforts to conserve water resources have been varied. Residential, commercial, and industrial plumbing infrastructure, for example, incorporates technological advances aimed at decreasing water usage, utilizing efficient energy transfer, and re-use techniques. However, many technological designs fail to appreciate end-use concerns. Some end-use concerns involve consumers in residential environments, where designs for use with faucets and showers provide some improvements in water conservation, but usually at the expense of consumer expectations such as water pressure and desired flow rate.
One example of a device used in faucets and showers is a flow control valve which can alter the flow of water passing through the plumbing by restricting the water flow, in an effort to decrease water output at a use point while maintaining water pressure. Such a device can incorporate a hemispherical water input chamber which restricts water flow during passage of the water through an internal pass-through opening of the device to a hemispherical water output chamber, thereby decreasing water output while still attempting to minimize water pressure losses through the line. Such flow control devices provide low flow, but can be at the expense of rinsability factors, including water pressure and flow rate.
Another example of a device used in faucets is a water flow limiting device that slidably attaches to a faucet. This type of device includes a cylindrical section surrounding the faucet that reduces in diameter to form a conical, spherical or elliptical portion exiting the device. Such a device reduces flow rate and provides an exit jet of water.
Another example of a device used in showers is a water flow assembly for controlling a flow of fluid through the device. The flow of fluid within and exiting the device can be controlled using a device configuration that imparts rotation into the flow of fluid. The rotation may help to create unstable, turbulent flow in the flow of fluid.
Another example of a flow restrictor device is a spray nozzle for concentrating flow through an elongated orifice passageway. The spray nozzle itself is comprised of an elongated orifice passageway with a length sufficiently long in relation to the equivalent diameter so as to reduce the average spray velocity of a fluid exiting the device. Such a device may contain a passageway that is a hollow dome-shaped chamber centered about the flow axis of the device. An exit orifice of this device may have an elliptical, circular, or similarly shaped cross-section.
Another example of a flow restrictor device is a housing for connection in a water flow path that contains a spherical restrictor body and a restrictor member disposed in the flow path to define a restriction, such that fluid flow through the device is restricted.
However, there continues to be a demand for novel features and developments in water conservation devices in the efforts to manage water resources in a socially, economically, and environmentally responsible manner, while still accommodating the desires of the end-user.